Wednesday, 13 May 2015

13 May 1969 marked a sad incidence in Malaysia's history. I was 10 years old and living with my parents and siblings at Gaya College near Jesselton, Sabah in Borneo. Jesselton is Kota Kinabalu today. Sabah is a part of Malaysia since 16 September 1963.

At the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, racial tension had begun to build up and eventually sparked on 13 May 1969. Watch the video link to understand how, why and what happened.

Today, 13 May 2015, is the 46th anniversary of the 13 May incidence. We learn from past incidences so that we can be more tolerant and thoughtful of all races in Malaysia.

In my family and big family of relatives, we are multiracial .... there were then (and there are still,) Malays (Bugis-Minang, Jawa), Arabs (Hadrami, Makawi), Chinese (Hokkien), Indians (descended from Hyderabad Indian Muslims), Pakistani, Siamese, Dutch Burghers, etc. As such we cannot be involved with racial tensions or the entire clan will break up. It is more beneficial for us to learn about other races and live harmoniously - like we do on Facebook. - Faridah Abdul Rashid, 13 May 2015